January 17, 2009

Memory Lane

So I've been going through the boxes in my "office," also known as the junk room for the three-plus years I've been living in my house. Pretty much all the bedrooms became storage rooms, because I only had the funds to decorate the rooms that people were actually going to see, and believe me that no one but me was going to see my room. I've found all kinds of little treasures in there, seeing as those boxes contain everything from my birth announcement in the paper all the way up through memorabilia from my undergrad days.

I found this letter, a rough draft, but as I recall, very similar to one I later mailed.

Dear people, citizens of O.F. [Orlando, Florida],

Since I live in TX, and rarely get out, go east, I would like to know more about Flor. (especially Orlando). It would be my dream to go to Or. I want to go to Disney [World, as indicated by the hand drawn icon of a world], Sea [World, (another world icon)], & just spend some in Orlando. I hope I can tour Or. soon.

Even at a young age, my literary prowess was already obvious. How can I throw that kind of quality away? Even better is that on the back of said letter is another note crudely scrawled in red ink that reads something like: Mama, Can you and me go to TX Water Rampage? Check Yes, No, Maybe So. (Mama circled "Maybe So," which was definitely not per the instructions to check her answer, but as no check boxes were provided, who could blame her?)

I wanted to be a travel agent when I was that age. I meticulously planned imaginary vacations to Disney World. I surveyed the family on their opinions, planned which resort our family would stay in, researched what time of year would be off-peak and therefore, cheaper. It should have been obvious way back then that my parents had a control freak extraordinaire on their hands. Today I found folders and envelopes full of touristy information that I requested (à la the letter seen above) from places as cool as Prince Edward Island and uncool as San Antonio. I found a couple years' worth of saved Travel & Leisure magazines from the 1990s.

I found a whole slew of medals and ribbons from my school days, including fifth place for Soccer Goal Kick in the 5th Grade Olympics. It's nice to know I had that much athletic talent at one time in my life. Many of the medals were identical, gold spray-painted general issue; I kept one and threw the rest out. I guess I went by Kim for a period of time, which is amusing since it's now a personal pet peeve of mine when people call me Kim, seeing as it isn't my name.

There are a lot of spirals full of my art and bizarre stories that should go in the shred box. I get the feeling that I created those long after the time it was socially acceptable to be doing so, which surprises no one. I also have a larger collection of Star Wars memorabilia than is socially acceptable for someone who works outside the I.T. department. There's especially a lot of Yoda figures, including a Pez and a puppet.

I found a stack of $2 bills. Okay, it was only five bills, but still the most cash I've held in awhile. Are $2 bills worth more than $2 yet? What about those Sacajawea dollar coins, because I found a couple of those, too? Found a big plastic bin of M*A*S*H episodes on VHS. Pictures of boys that didn't love me. Wedding announcements for my friends and birth announcements for their kids.

The best find was probably this pair of black heels that I have been trying to find for a couple of years. My house is the Bermuda Triangle for clothes, socks, and shoes.

I'll probably try to sell off some of this old stuff. Interesting trades considered!